Lands Commission holds property valuation conference

A two-day conference on property valuation has been held in Takoradi in the Western Region.

It was organised by the Lands Division of the Lands Commission on the theme "Standardisation of property valuation practice and the Lands Act 2020 (Act 1036) to facilitate work delivery", and was attended by participants from the 16 regions of the country.

Topics treated included rating valuation and its current trends, processes and procedure, general valuation on capital and rental and compensation valuation, among others.

Addressing the opening of the conference last Tuesday, the Director of the Land Valuation Division, Dr Theodora Mends, said as government advisors on compensation, capital, rental, rating valuation and stamp duty, it meant that the Lands Division must continually train to become more efficient.

She said this was to ensure that the government derived the best from the services of the division in terms of revenue generation.

Dr Mends stressed the need to train new staff, improve upon skills and standardise the valuation practices and processes nationwide.

The Chairman of the Lands Commission, Alex Quaynor, expressed regret over the encroachment of public lands by squatters.

He said such indiscipline had resulted in some places earmarked for roads being encroached upon, with some metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies (MMDAs) issuing building permits to such squatters, who when threatened with eviction rather demanded compensation.

He urged the conference to discuss the new trends in valuation and come up with new ideas.

He said starting next year, there would be specialised training of staff of the commission to acquire special skills so that they could be posted to any division.

The Executive Secretary of the Lands Commission, James Dadson, said since the commission played a key role in the financial management of the country, the various divisions must collaborate in the discharge of their duties and work together as a family.